


If I Had To Choose (It Would Always Be You)

by Cockbite (personalized_radio)



Series: The Cockbite Syndicate [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: AHOT6 - Freeform, Fake AH Crew, Jealousy, M/M, Michael-centric, Multi, The Founders - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 09:48:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8200654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/personalized_radio/pseuds/Cockbite
Summary: Michael didn’t make a habit of spying on his boyfriends. To tell the truth, if he stopped to listen to every one-on-one, behind-closed-doors conversation he’d come across he’d get jackshit done, and that was especially true for Plan G. It was like the two of them made it a habit to seek each other out and whisper shit between themselves like fucking high school girls every chance they got.So, no, Michael didn’t usually find himself plastered to the wall between the living room and the kitchen of the penthouse, his heart beating fast as a rabbit and his skin a tiny bit clammy from what he was hearing, but he’d long understood that there was a first time for everything.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this was my first Roosterteeth fic and I cleaned it up a little and decided to post it. It's pretty rough, but here you go!
> 
> you can find me at [on Tumblr](https://cockbite.tumblr.com/) if you'd like! I post fake/gta!au stuff :)

Michael didn’t make a habit of spying on his boyfriends. To tell the truth, if he stopped to listen to every one-on-one, behind-closed-doors conversation he’d come across he’d get jackshit done, and that was especially true for Plan G. It was like the two of them made it a habit to seek each other out and whisper shit between themselves like fucking high school girls every chance they got.

So, no, Michael didn’t usually find himself plastered to the wall between the living room and the kitchen of the penthouse, his heart beating fast as a rabbit and his skin a tiny bit clammy from what he was hearing, but he’d long understood that there was a first time for everything.

“You can’t be serious, Gav,” Geoff was saying, sounding the wrong side of desperate for a forty-year-old man who also happened to be the biggest, baddest boss this side of the country. “Leave? After all the work we put into this?”

“I just think it’s time for a clean slate,” Gavin sighed, dejected, “It’s just, we’ve been working towards this since we first met and now that we’ve achieved the goal, what’s the point?”  
“Don’t talk like that,” Geoff scoffed, and there was a clicking, ice against one of his favorite crystal tumblers, the ones he only broke out when he and Gavin were having Serious Talks. “There’s so much more we could do, so much more we could be! We’ve built something great here, Gav!”

“I know!” Gavin squawked, the counter ringing with the sound of him slapping his own tumbler down, “But, I mean, look at us Geoff! We spend way too much time on this whole stupid thing! It was lovely while it lasted, but we can do better. I can do better, at least.”

And he sounded teasing, but Michael’s ears were ringing. Were they...were they talking about _them_? About the six of them?

“It’ll be a hard break up,” Geoff finally gave in, and Michael’s heart leapt into his throat. “I don’t even know what to say, Gavvy. This chapter of your life is over, if you’re sure.”  
“I’m sure,” Gavin agreed, sounding subdued. Michael wanted to storm into the kitchen and start shouting, change Gavin’s mind, punch Geoff in the shoulder for not trying to convince him otherwise. “I don’t know what I’m gonna tell the others. Ray and Ryan have put almost as much effort into it as me.”

“Michael’ll probably be pissed,”

“He won’t care,” Gavin laughed, “He and Jack, they’ll be over it ‘fore I even get it out my mouth.”

Was...was that seriously what he thought? That Michael wouldn’t give a shit if he just...if he just _left_?

“I’ll care,” Geoff spoke up, sounding sad and defeated, “I can’t change your mind?”  
“Nah,” Gavin sniffed, “I don’t think so. Maybe we can pick it up again, one day. After I’ve taken a break.”

Geoff hummed, like it didn’t matter a mite to him at all, and Michael barely found it in himself to frog march his body back to the bedroom, glass of water forgotten and eyes burning with something angry that he didn’t want to put words to.

-

Michael watched Gavin and Geoff closely the next day. He’d fallen asleep before either had returned, but he’d woken up from a nightmare with Gavin curled up against his back and his gangly arms around his waist and Ray sniffling into his neck in his sleep, like usual. When they had breakfast and Jack was arguing with Geoff over what needed to be done today and not tomorrow, deciding who was heading where with who and what, neither Geoff nor Gavin gave any hint that something was wrong. That Gavin had actually decided to just... _leave_. And Michael, because he wasn’t a fucking asshole, could admit when he overreacted. Out of the six of them, Ray was the flightiest and Ryan was pretty skittish, but Michael knew that he wasn’t too far away from his own brand of cutting and running. The thing about explosives, Michael had learned, was that the farther away from the explosion you were, the less it hurt and Michael was no slouch when it came to gettin’ while the gettin’ was good.

He hadn’t wanted to run from what the six of them had managed to achieve since the very beginning, when Jack had kissed him and then passed him off to Geoff like it was totally normal. Still, he could admit when he was wrong, and he was willing to admit that he could have just _misunderstood_ what he’d heard in the kitchen. In fact, he _wanted_ that to be the case. If it came down to whether Michael was just being a bitch or his boi really wanting to...to _leave_ , then Michael would take Option 1 in an instant.

“Yo, assholes,” Geoff stood up after dinner, two days later, snapping his fingers to get everyone’s attention on him. They’d all been sprawled in the living room, Ray laying on the couch with his head in Michael’s lap and his legs in Ryan’s, playing a game on the TV, Jack sitting on the loveseat with Gavin and leaving Geoff the chair to relax in with a few fingers of expensive whiskey. Michael had been watching Gavin extensively for the past forty-eight hours, blaming it on the nightmare when Gavin had asked why he was following him everywhere, and had finally settled down a little and begun to relax. Geoff’s announcement-voice brought all the worry and upset that he’d thought had been put to rest right back to the surface.

Ray paused his game at the finger snapping, the sign that Geoff actually had something to say that they needed to hear and Michael unwillingly turned his attention from texting Lindsay to hear him out.

“As you fuckers know, it’s that time of year again.”

“Hell yeah, it is,” Gavin set up from where he’d been letting Jack raid his hair, “Where we headed this year, Geoff?”

“Shut the fuck up and I’ll tell you, _sugarplum_ ,” Geoff said, his voice sugary sweet, “The annual Founders meeting is coming up. Usually, Gav, Jack and I head off to meet at one of the other cities, but it’s our turn to host this year.”  
“Here?” Jack set up too, “What, Burnie actually wants to come to LS? I thought he was skipping over it.”  
“He did last time,” Geoff shrugged, “But we’ve gotten big enough that he’s finally decided to grace this slime dump with his kingly presence.”  
“What a loser,” Gavin scoffed, but he was excited enough that he wasn’t sitting still anymore, “And the others?”  
“The Founders meeting,” Geoff emphasized and gave him a look, “What kind of dumbass question was that?”

“Just checking,” Gavin made a kissy face at him, one that Geoff ignored to focus back in on what he was saying.

“What that means is that we need to clean this place up.”  
“We cleaned yesterday,” Ray complained loudly, going limp on the couch to show his displeasure.

“I meant the city, you clown,” Geoff huffed, crossing his arms, “That means I’m sending R’n’R out to do some dirty work so be ready at dawn. You two are gonna go talk to a few of our friends, and a few of our not-friends, and make sure everyone _behaviors_ or there will be hell to pay. Michael, you and Lindsay get B-Team up and awake; I want your ears to the ground for anything going down and I want it _stopped_ until Burnie and the others are gone. Got it? Gav, Jack and I have some planning to do to prepare for the occasion.”

There was a chorus of ‘yes, sir’s,’ and ‘aye-aye’s but Michael excused himself barely ten minutes later, his stomach rolling. He locked himself in the farthest bathroom, set in front of the toilet and tried not to throw up.

-

Michael had heard of Gavin Free before he’d even made it up the ladder enough to be called part of the Fake AH crew. Geoff had split off from the Roosters nearly a decade ago and come to Los Santos, taking Jack along with them, and Michael and Ryan had joined over those years but Gavin Free had been in the crew before Geoff and Jack had even left. He’d been overseas for a while, and then helping the other Founders settle into their own cities since Geoff hadn’t been the only one wanting to make a separate name for himself, so Michael hadn’t actually met the fuck until nearly a year after he’d graduated from occasionally-hired-muscle to Geoff’s favorite pyrotechnics expert. And then Michael had walked into Geoff’s living room, a shitty room half the size of their bedroom now but Geoff had been a relatively poor fuck back in those days, and some gangly kid sitting on Geoff’s fucked up couch had offered to help him stitch up his arm after the heist.

Michael had a passing acquaintanceship with Ryan - just _The Vagabond_ then - and he’d liked Geoff and Jack enough but he’d grown up in Jersey, under the tutelage of the most disloyal gangsters he’d ever met and he had a hard time trusting that Geoff wasn’t gonna abandon him one day or Jack wouldn’t realize that Michael’s temper was a liability more than his fire tricks were an asset and have him taken out, or Ryan wouldn’t find that he preferred his own skill in explosives and have Michael...removed. It wouldn’t have been the first time any of that had happened and he had the scars both mental and physical to show for it.

But Gavin...Gavin had taken a few days to physically station himself in the crew and learn the layout of all their new members and had then taken to wedging himself into every little bit of space that there was. He picked at _The Vagabond_ , for fucks sake, and quoted stupid poetry and weird facts until Michael heard Ryan laugh for the first time ever. And he made Michael feel less like an outsider. Being the youngest by at least five years and with much less experience and reputation than the other three, Michael hadn’t felt nearly comfortable or safe enough within the crew to try to form any kind of bond outside of business. Gavin was younger than him, but only by a few months, and a helluva lot more friendly towards him than the Gents were and, with time, Michael had felt that missing feeling of being comfortable and of _safety_ and that was when he’d decided that yeah, this was the crew he wanted to stay in and he’d brought in Ray.

And, with Ray, it had been like magic, like all they’d needed was that sixth person to balance the scale and it had been perfect the way they worked together. And then, a year later, they’d _worked together_ , and that had been that.

The point was, Gavin had swooped in, made Michael fit in, made Michael fall in love with him, gave him a best friend and a safety net he hadn’t ever had before, and he’d been the one to make Michael think that this whole fucked _relationship_ between the six of them could _work_ and the thought of him going away - just leaving, like none of them, like _Michael_ , didn’t matter, scared Michael nearly as much as it pissed him off.

Michael found himself throwing up into the toilet and didn’t come out until he knew that everyone was sleeping. When he opened the door, it was to Gavin, sleeping in the hallway with a cup of water and some stomach pills at his side.

Michael nearly cried, but he took the pills and drank the water and woke Gavin back up so they could go to bed together.

Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe this was just his fucked up head and his fucked up thoughts and his fucked up childhood coming back to try and make him give up on the best thing that had ever happened to him.

God, he hoped so.

-

Gus showed his face first, with Matt and Barbara at his side. He was a day early, sure, but Geoff would never complain because he missed his friends for all that he loved ruling Los Santos with an iron fist and being with his boyfriends and crew.

The point was though, Gus shows his face first by kicking through their front door.

The point was though, Michael was not fucking expecting a short man to kick his door in shouting about Geoff getting his greasy, lazy ass up to greet him properly and neither, apparently, was Ryan because Ryan had a gun to the short man’s head before he’d even finished speaking and Michael’s sights were trained on the girl who had followed him in - all bright smiles, dead eyes, and blond, braided hair.

“Geoff, you asshole!” The short man yelled into the apartment, seemingly unfazed by the gun and the angry man holding it, “Get your crew off me!”

And then Geoff was hurrying into the room, faster than Michael’s seen him move since that time he punched the fuck out of that guy’s face for insulting Ray, with a huge grin on his face.

“Gus!”

“Geoff!”

And then another man was shoving Gus out of the way and stepping into the room, a much calmer smile on his face, and Geoff’s smile _grew_.

“Hullum, you piece of shit, I thought you were showing up with Burnie or Joel!”

“I’ve been with Gus for the last few months, so I figured I’d just stick with his entourage. You’d think a crime boss would want to travel with more than just a single bodyguard, as talented as Barbara is, but you know Gus.”

Geoff reached for Gus first and they hugged each other tightly, enough that they both cracked their spines and made identical ‘ _ow fuck_ ’ noises, and then Geoff was reaching for Matt to clasp hands and bro-hug it out.

But that was nothing compared to Gavin’s reaction, because Michael had been expecting this from Geoff, who Michael knew missed his old crew even as much as he loved his new one, but he hadn’t been expected the excited shout that was Gavin’s familiar squawk as he floundered and flailed into the room, past all of them and directly into Barbara’s arms.

“Where’s my fucking hug, dumbass?” Gus scoffed, looking like he couldn’t push the smile off his face if he tried even as Barbara shoved Gavin into his arms for said hug with little sympathy for Gavin’s gangly frame. Matt joined in after giving Gus a moment, pulling Gavin into a hug of his own which Gavin returned with just as much enthusiasm.

It was all very confusing and very frustrating - and neither of those things helped Michael’s fur lie flat - but he still backed off, dropping his gun like Ryan had. He skulked away while everyone was distracted, not at all wanting to watch Geoff and Gavin get all animated while he was feeling so upset.

It hit him as he was slipping into their bedroom, nodding at Jack as they passed each other in the doorway, that for all that he loved them, he had very little knowledge of Geoff’s past and even less of Gavin’s. He had no clue who Barbara was, why she thought she could hold Gavin’s hand so intimately, why a Founder that Michael had heard horror stories about in Jersey would scrub at Gavin’s hair or tweak Geoff’s mustache, why Gus could smile like that at Geoff and Gavin and they could all light up and laugh together after being away from each other so long. Michael didn’t have anybody he loved outside of the crew. They were everything he had. He wouldn’t _want_ to stay away from people he cared about for so long if he cared about them as much as the people in the doorway of Geoff’s penthouse obviously cared about each other. Why would Gavin possibly want to stick around here when just seeing Gus and Matt and Barbara made him so happy?

It made him...it made him uneasy. He thought he might be sick again.

-

It got worse the next day, when Joel and Adam showed up. Michael had slept in the bathroom, feeling ill, but when he’d finally gotten up to leave no one had been in the hallway this time.

He’d closed the door again.

Still, he couldn’t live his life in the guest bathroom and there had been a commotion earlier in the morning so he could safely assume that another Founder had shown their ugly mug.

Knowing that still hadn’t prepared him for walking into the living room to see Gavin and a _clone_ of Gavin sitting on the couch. They were in the same fancy-yet-douchey style of clothes, the same gaudy gold sunglasses in their bleached and gelled hair, the same smirk as they joked.

 _Joel_ , Michael put a name to the face. It had to be Joel.

Joel, who Gavin was sitting next too in total relaxation even though Joel had his _knife_. Gavin didn’t let _anyone_ touch that knife - it was nicked to shit and the blade was barely sharp enough to kill, the gold of it the only thing still intact due to age - even more rare since gold on a knife didn’t usually stay in the same pocket long but Michael had seen Gavin kill people for doing less to it than what Joel was doing. He was doing fucking _knife tricks_ , like what Ryan did when he was bored and not paying attention, flicking it, twisting it, tossing it up in the air over and over absentmindedly, balancing it over his knuckles as he listened to Gavin go on about something.

Michael almost wanted to say something, because he _knew_ how much that knife meant to Gavin and maybe Gavin just wasn’t saying anything about its treatment because he liked Joel a lot and didn’t want to offend him, but Michael had no problem doing so - especially not for something as important as that particular knife. Michael had even opened his mouth to do so when Joel flipped it in the air and - missed it. It nearly clattered to the ground had Gavin not nearly gotten himself stabbed lunging for it.

And Michael melted back into the shadows of the hallway, because _this is it, Gavin’s gonna ream him out for that_ , Gavin had stabbed someone in the eye for knocking the knife out of his hand once, there was no way Joel was gonna get away with being so careless with it. But Gavin only laughed. Loud and giggling and Michael wanted to _scream_ because Gavin just gave it a quick once-over and handed it back to Joel without hesitation.

Michael went back to bed.

“Are you okay?” Ray asked when Michael had stripped off yesterday’s clothes and crawled under the sheets of their huge bed. It was unusual that they all slept in the same bed but, when they did, Geoff liked plenty of room for everyone so he’d had a bed custom built and ‘coptered into the penthouse a few weeks after they’d all settled into the relationship. Ray was the only one in the room, but Michael saw Ryan’s skull mask and knew he was around the penthouse somewhere. He hadn’t heard Gus, Jack, or Geoff all day so he assumed they were out.

“No,” he said, honestly, and let Ray pull him into a huge because Ray never tried to pull out of Michael what Michael wasn’t willing to give.

He settled against Ray’s chest and buried his face in his shoulder and tried to breathe through the panic and then he was asleep.

-

Michael had never met any of the Founders in person, but he’d heard of tales of Burnie Burns. They don’t have a leader, The Roosters, not like the Fake AH does, but - if they did - it would be Burnie. Michael had never seen Geoff angry because Burnie had lorded it over them, Geoff had never even mentioned it, but it was obvious that all of the Founders had a respect for Burnie akin to Michael’s respect for Geoff. Yeah, they were friends (lovers, boyfriends, more than _friends_ , they were a crew) but - when it mattered - Geoff was Michael’s boss. Michael but his life in Geoff’s hands and trusted that he knew what he was doing.

And, when he looked at the Founders, he saw that respect between them when they talked about Burns. It made his stomach clench that there was someone in the world that Geoff Ramsey deferred to without question.

It burned him inside that, when someone politely knocked on the newly fixed door that night at dinner, Gavin literally knocked his plate over onto Joel and Geoff so that he could be the one to jump up and rush to open it.

When he yelled, “ _BURNIE,_ ” Michael couldn’t remember ever having heard Gavin so excited to see any of them - to see Michael - before.

“Gavin!” A voice responded with just barely less enthusiasm, and Burnie didn’t sound at all like the scary crime lord that Michael had been taught about as a child. Michael wasn’t fooled, he lived with Ryan and his awkward dad personality, until the Vagabond was needed, so he didn’t relax even a little from where he’d been standing with his own bowl in the corner of the room, watching everyone.

But, even though he knew that the Burnie that walked into the kitchen with Gavin clinging to him like an octopus and the Burnie that Michael had learned to fear growing up were the same people and that pissing him off could possibly be the last thing he ever does, his vision still bled red and he had to get _out of that room_.

He left and no one noticed. At least, he thought no one noticed until he was breathing hard in the bedroom and Ryan and Ray were on either side of him, R’n’R connection with Michael in the middle, and he couldn’t control what came out of his mouth.

“I heard Geoff and Gavin,” he sucked in a chestful of air, “They - They were talking about Gavin leaving and now, fuck, oh fuck, now all of these _assholes_ are here and he’s going to _leave_ , he’s going to _leave us_ and go with one of them, I know he is,” because they’ve come into Michael’s _home_ , into _their_ home, and they’re taking Geoff’s time, taking _Gavin_ , “I think he’s going to leave with Burns and go back to Liberty City,” he said because he hasn’t seen anyone look that love-struck since he saw Gavin look at Geoff for the first time.

“Hey,” Ray caught his face in his hands, “Listen to me, Michael. Calm down, breathe,”

Michael tried, he tried so hard, but he wasn’t quite able to get his lungs under control until Ryan had taken one of his hands and squeezed it tightly enough to hurt.

“None of us would ever let Gavin go without a fight,” Ray promised, “I don’t know what the hell Geoff was thinking but if Gavin is going anywhere, we’re going to try to convince him not to.”

Michael nodded, finally feeling his blood stop boiling. Gavin was his best friend, was his boi, and Ray was right. He wouldn’t lose him without a fight.

“We’ll think of something tomorrow,” Ryan stopped squeezing his hand but didn’t let go all the way, “For now, let’s just...stay calm and not blow our lids.”

Michael agreed with barely a grunt, gripping Ryan’s hand so he wouldn’t let go.

They returned to the kitchen, just in time to see Burnie wrapping Gavin up in a big bear hug, enveloping him in his stupid arms and saying something into his stupid hair that made Gavin hide his stupid face in Burnie’s stupid shoulder and squeeze him back as hard as his stupid, skinny arms could.

Ryan squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt again and Michael used the pain to ground himself and keep his temper under control. As much as Geoff, at least, loved him, a straight up assault on Burnie Burns would get him killed. Possibly by Gavin.

Joel was soon jumping into their hug, taking Gavin’s place, or creating his own place since he just reeled Gavin back into a hug between himself and Burnie and then he was demanding that they all play some Halo like old times.

Geoff was shining like a beacon and it was like he and Gavin were feeding off of each other. Michael wished he could see them this happy _without_ the Roosters in their home.

-

Gavin’s skin was slick where Michael’s hands slid down his sides, clutched desperately at his hips with a weak grip, tried to help control the pace but couldn’t find it in his brain to make his fingers hold harder.

“Michael, Michael, Michael,” Gavin grunted into his shoulder, having no problem keeping his grip strong enough to bruise where it was helping Michael hug his thighs around Gavin’s waist.

“Fu- _shit,_ ” Michael clutched at Gavin desperately, wondering if Gavin could feel the panic under his skin, if he could feel just how scared Michael was of losing him, if the way he hooked his ankles together at Gavin’s lower back gave away his worries.

It felt good, it felt _amazing_ , being like this with Gavin - but all Michael could think about in between mind-numbing sparks of pleasure was that _Gavin wanted to leave_ , that Michael and the others weren’t _enough_ \- that he thought Michael wouldn’t _care_ if he just, if he just _left_.

It hurt so bad, when Michael dwelled on that, so he just tried to focus on the here and now, on Gavin shaking with strain and both of them sweating and feeling like he was going to burn up starting at his toes and moving up until there was nothing left of him.

He dug his fingernails into Gavin’s skin, rougher than he usually was, but neither of them cared, lost in the moment until they were both empty and satisfied.

Gavin collapsed on his chest and Michael didn’t shove him off like he usually did, too hot and sweaty and sore from holding his legs open for so long. And maybe Gavin didn’t know what, exactly, was wrong but he seemed to guess that _something_ was bothering Michael because he wasn’t usually one for cuddling so soon after either yet he still leaned up to initiate a slow, intense kiss that lasted so long Michael’s chest was beginning to ache.

He rubbed Michael’s thighs, gentled them back onto the mattress to avoid straining the muscles now orgasm-loose, before he finally set up. Even when he rolled over, he didn’t break contact, keeping a big hand settled on Michael’s stomach, rubbing up and down in a soothing motion that nearly put Michael to sleep.

It was the closest he’d felt to Gavin in days, Michael realized, the closest he’d felt to not thinking Gavin was going to leave them, because how could Gavin lay here with him and caress him and love him like this if he was going to leave? Gavin, who hated when any of them had nightmares, who would go out of his way to cheer all of them up, who knew that sex was emotional enough for Michael that he would occasionally cry? Gavin, who could be an asshole and a jerk and a fucking idiot a lot of the time but had never been maliciously cruel to Michael in moments like this ever, even if they were fighting.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Gavin set bolt upright and it snapped Michael out of the pleased doze he’d had going. Gavin’s hand left his stomach and Michael suddenly felt alone and cold, icy compared to how hot he’d felt only minutes earlier.

“What?” Michael set up, frowning, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m late for my lunch with Matt, _fuck_ ,” Gavin shot off the bed and started pulling his clothes on, “Shit, shit, shit, I’m in so much trouble,”  
“Gavin,” Michael tried to stop him, his heart starting to hammer, “Don’t,”

“I’ll see you, love,” Gavin paused in shoving his feet into some flip-flops just long enough to lean down and kiss Michael, quick and distracted, and then he grabbed his phone and wallet and was gone.

“Don’t go,” Michael said to the closed door. He heard the front door slam closed and then pulled his legs to his chest and hid his face in them, burying his hands in his hair and wondering if this was going to be the last time he and Gavin touched each other, kissed each other, before Gavin left.

-

Ray and Ryan tried their own things, Michael noticed. Jack had found him crying in the bedroom but Michael had lied and said something about another nightmare and Jack had held him tight and let him cry until he didn’t want to cry anymore. Then he was just angry - angry at Geoff, angry at Gavin, angry at himself because why wasn’t he ever _good enough_ for people to stick around? What was wrong with him? - and anger made him even more upset. It was a cycle he couldn’t break out of.

Ray let Gavin beat him nearly every round they played the next time Gavin challenged Ray to Smash Bros (because sometimes Gavin was his own worst enemy really, and Ray could only pretend to lose so well) and Ryan refrained from fighting Gavin on every one of his stupid questions and answers them seriously and without hesitation. He even agreed to let Gavin drive his new car for the first time even though Gavin whining at him to let him give it a spin had been a ritual of theirs for nearly five months now, since Ryan had brought the fucking thing home.

Over the next two days, Michael couldn’t bring himself to go back to their bedroom at night but he waited and he watched and he tried to do the things that he usually didn’t in the hope of somehow convincing Gavin that they were worth sticking around for. Gavin’s behavior, though, didn’t change - he didn’t seem to notice a thing, but Michael occasionally caught Gavin watching him with something unreadable in his eyes, sometimes caught him looking at Ray or Ryan in the same way. Gavin was their front man, their wild card, but Michael had never really thought about what it would be like to be on the other side of his sweet smile and innocent eyes. Gavin was his usual, stupid, dorky self - unless one of the Founders showed up. Hell, Matt walking into a room made Gavin leap off the couch - off Michael’s lap and Michael never let Gavin sit on him - just so he could ask where he was going and if Gavin could come with him. Gus coughed and Gavin dropped whatever game he and Ray were playing so he could go harass he and Barbara, Joel could call his name and he’d stop playing with Ryan’s hair so he could go skip into the sunset with his older clone. Michael had never thought there could be _two_ Gavins, but it turned out that Gavin was actually a _Joel_ clone. It seemed he’d gotten all of the obnoxious things about himself from Joel in the first place.

Worst of all was Burnie fucking Burns, though. A whisper of his voice down the hallway had Gavin jumping on one leg to pull on his boxers and someone’s shirt so he could go say good morning or stuffing food down his face so he could go show Burnie around the city, constantly touching him, constantly hanging off of him. Burnie talked to him with this _voice_ that made Michael’s hackles rise higher than a bar fight did. It was the kind of voice that was too fucking similar to how Geoff sometimes talked to Lindsay - a deeply familiar, deeply personal tone that spoke of years of familiarity and fondness. That spoke of plans for the future. Burnie looked at Gavin with this fucking _look_ , like Gavin couldn’t take the smile off Burnie’s face if he tried. When Gavin wasn’t looking - but Michael was - all of the Founders looked at Gavin like that, even Geoff. Like Geoff _knew_.

It felt like betrayal to Michael. Michael had trusted Geoff with _everything_ , with _all_ of who Michael was, with his insecurities and his life and his love, and Geoff knew that Gavin was leaving and hadn’t told any of them. Didn’t even look upset. It was on par with Gavin leaving in Michael’s mind, Geoff not even bothering to warn any of them.

And Jack...fuck, Jack. He didn’t seem even a bit bothered. He just smiled, encouraged Gavin to go off and _have fun_ with their visitors even if it broke into the time he and Gavin were spending together, whenever he got the chance. Even Geoff, who Jack could be notoriously possessive of in the right company, was encouraged to leave whenever one of the Founders wanted to do something.

Michael hated _everything_ , but he hated Burnie fucking Burns and his _plans_ most of all.

-

The last straw was the heist. Usually, Michael loved heists. He liked getting down and dirty, he loved dragging out his toys to blow up a few blocks every few months, he practically got off on the intimacy of working so closely with all of his boyfriends. He and Ryan made a hardcore death-machine, a riot and a slaughter between the two of them while Jack stayed in the van as their trusty get away and Ray stationed himself a building over, sniping their path clear and keeping them safe. Geoff was their plan-man, their leader, the guy who knew what was going on and where to direct them and Gavin told them where to go, lead them to Jack or to safety, kept them out of harm’s way while they made off with the goods. When they needed him, he was there - their voice, their front man, their _give us the money, love, that’s right_ guy.

This time, though, Michael wasn’t involved. This was a _for old time’s_ heist, was a Roosters heist the likes of which the world hadn’t seen since they split up to take over the country.

On one hand, it was strange to know that, in his original crew, Geoff was the Roosters’ Michael - their muscle, their big guns, their riot. Gus and Joel, he’d figured out while listening into the heist plans he wasn’t to be a part of, were two sides of Gavin’s job - Gus in the tech van and Joel their front man, their money man. Matt was a combination of their Ryan and their Ray, a distant smile and a sniper rifle and a trigger finger that didn’t like to be kept away from his money.

And Burnie was their Geoff, their plan man, and it rubbed Michael in every wrong way that their plan man had a plan that involved Gavin. Barbara and Adam were both left behind with the rest of the Fake AH crew and it didn’t seem to bother them a bit, didn’t lit a fire in them like it did in Michael.

And Jack just slept through it, warm and content on his back in the bedroom that had missed Michael and Ryan’s presence since the last time Michael and Gavin had had sex and when Gavin had left in the middle of he and Ryan’s weekly meditation to go on a booze run with Joel (because the Founders had drunk the whole fucking house clean and Gavin had done his best to fucking help).

Michael stood in the kitchen and shook with - fear, rage, hurt, he didn’t know. He felt like his world was coming apart. Was this the test? Was this heist Burnie testing Gavin, seeing if he was ready to leave Geoff and the Fakes and come back to Liberty City with him? Was Gavin going to go with them?  
Michael was nearly sick again, but Ray went to his side and hugged him and let him sag against his shoulder and shake his head when Ray asked if he wanted to talk.

Barbara and Adam made sandwiches, turned on the news and broke open their laptops, barely glancing in Michael and Ray’s direction. Michael had to at least be thankful for that, if nothing else.

He waited until the news started reporting, until Barbara got the call that everyone was fine and they were headed home, before he pulled away from Ray to grab blindly at the line of car keys hanging by the door. He left the penthouse without another look, breathing too hard, needing to leave the city, needing to leave everything behind.

He heard Ray follow him, probably to make sure he didn’t drive himself off a cliff just to fuck himself up if he got into one of his self-destructive moods, but he didn’t care. Michael had long ago realized that he was a stick of dynamite just waiting to go off and he sometimes wondered if he was going to end up lighting his own fuse one day. It felt like it, now, like he just wanted to - to explode and just burn out so he didn’t have to feel so - like _this_ anymore.

-

He’d been driving out in the desert for hours now. They’d gone far enough that they couldn’t see the lights of the city anymore and Ray had set in the passenger seat and played a game on his phone while Michael had done angry donuts at top speed and yelled through the open windows. At some point, Geoff called and Michael ignored it. Minutes later, Gavin called so Michael threw the fucking phone out of the window and probably ran it over on his next donut.

He thought Ray must have text someone because there wasn’t a search party sent to track his last location - or maybe they just didn’t care to find them.

When he was nearly out of gas and the world was too dark to see anything except the faintest glow of the city and the stars and moon, he and Ray crawled into the back seat and Ray let him lay on top of him and listen to his heartbeat.

“What’ll we do if he leaves?” Michael wondered after what could have been any length of time in silence.

“I don’t know,” Ray said because they both know that the whole relationship thing wouldn’t work too well if one of them was gone. It wouldn’t last without any one of them - they only work as a whole when the whole was complete.

Michael hid his face and tried not to think about what life would be like once he lost someone else. Once he lost all of them. He gripped Ray as tight as he could and just breathed because he was terrified it would start with Gavin and just keep going until he was alone again.

“It hurts so much,” He finally admitted, “It hurts _so much_ that he wants to leave,”

“I know,” Ray clutched him tight and it helped a little, that Michael wasn’t alone in this, at least. That Ray was just as terrified.

“Will you stay?” Michael found himself asking, wondering, “If we fly apart?”  
“I haven’t left you yet, loser,” Ray scoffed and that was a promise that let Michael go to sleep

Ray drove when the sun comes up the next morning. Michael stayed in the passenger's seat, feet resting against the dash in a way that let him scrunch up into a ball, and he used the jacket Ryan had left in the back seat a few weeks ago as a blanket and a curtain to hide his face. It smelled like Ryan and Jack, having been one of the many pieces of clothing the two of them shared, and they both smelled like family and stability to Michael. He suddenly wanted to talk to Jack about everything, to be told that he was just being stupid and _of course_ Gavin didn’t want to leave, _of course_ Geoff would fight harder to keep him if Gavin had decided to leave or at least warn them that Gavin wasn’t happy. He wanted Jack to hug him and tell him that he was enough for them. That Michael was worth sticking around for. He wanted Ryan to lay down behind him and curl his body around Michael’s and hold his hand. He even wanted Geoff, as angry as he was at him, to just - tell him he was _wrong_ and that he loved Michael and he loved all of them and didn’t want any of them to leave. He wanted Ray to be with him even though he was acting insane right now and he wanted Gavin to _stay_.

-

Ray took him to the apartment he and Ryan shared. Michael thought about asking to go to his own place, but he lived in the same building as Gavin and he didn’t want to take the chance of running into him anytime soon.

Ryan was there when they got to the door and he pulled Michael into the tightest hug he had given yet and kissed his mop of hair and Michael took a moment to clutch at his shirt and inhale like he would never touch Ryan again.

“Want to be alone?” Ryan asked when Ray had disappeared to shower and Michael had been taken to Ryan’s room.

Michael shook his head, so Ryan shucked his jacket and shirt and helped Michael mechanically pull his own clothes off and then they crawled into the bed together and held each other.

Ryan didn’t shake when he was upset, not like Michael, but he tensed up like a piece of steel instead. When Michael pressed close and was enclosed in strong arms, it was like leaning against an iron wall. His eyes burned but he tried to sleep anyway.

The next time he woke up, Ryan was gone but Jack had taken his place. He’d been playing with Michael’s hair and he stopped when he saw that Michael’s eyes had opened until Michael had pressed closer, using Jack’s thigh as a pillow. Jack resumed running warm fingers through tangled hair and Michael relaxed.

“Do they know where I am?” He finally asked, when it became apparent that Jack wouldn’t be saying anything.

“No,” Jack shook his head, “Ray told Geoff you really weren’t in the mindset to talk to anyone so Geoff decided to let you cool off.”  
“And Gavin?” _Does he even care_? Michael really wanted to ask.

“He’s going crazy looking for you. He knows the others know where you are and just won’t tell him so he isn’t speaking to anyone. Ryan lied to him about you not being here, so he hasn’t stopped to check but it won’t be much longer before he does.”

“Whatever,” Michael grumped, but he set up and Jack gave him a still-warm cup of coffee and some Advil. Michael loved him and how he always knew what Michael needed, even when he hadn’t even been around for hours.

“Not healthy,” Jack teased once Michael had taken the Advil dry and chugged the coffee in a few gulps.

“Not a single fuck given,” Michael wiped his mouth and pulled the blanket back up to his chin. It smelled like Ryan and Ray and Michael wanted to bask in it for a little while longer.

Jack sighed and leaned back against the wall, going back to running fingers through Michael’s hair, scratching at his scalp, “So why are the three of you so knotted up, huh? Ever since the Founders started showing up, you’ve all been going crazy.”

“And you haven’t?” Michael demanded, “Don’t you see what they’re trying to do?”

“They’re trying to...catch up? It’s been a year since they’ve really had contact with each other.”

“They’re trying to take Gavin!” Michael exploded, sitting up to stare at Jack, “How can’t you see it!?”

Jack stared at him and Michael saw realization settle over his features slowly, “Wait, what?”

“Ryan and Ray noticed it, too!” Michael snapped, feeling suddenly defensive and attacked, “Burns wants to take Gavin back to Liberty City with him and Gavin - fucking Gavin wants to go!”

“Michael,” Jack leaned forward and cupped his face, “You stupid jackasses, is that why you’ve all been crying in the bedroom?”  
“No one has been crying, Jack!” Michael pushed at his hands weakly, “This isn’t funny! I heard Gavin talking to Geoff about leaving before those assholes even showed up and he was talking about - about wanting a clean slate and how he and Geoff have been working towards this for a long time but he was ready to move on and now - and now Burnie _fucking_ Burns is here and he’s all over all of them, but he’s especially up that fucker’s ass and Burns looks at him like he wants to make Gavin his fucking -”

“His heir,” Jack finished for him, sounding understanding.

“Yeah,” Michael deflated, “His fucking heir. And you know what Gavin can’t do while he’s in Geoff’s crew, with us? Be Burnie Burns’ heir.”

“Michael,” Jack hesitated, like he was trying to find the words, “Burnie _does_ want to make Gavin his heir. You three really don’t know anything about Gavin’s past, do you?”

“He isn’t exactly forthcoming.” Michael grunted, pulling his legs to his chest and shoving his face in his knees.

“Where are Ryan and Ray, I need to clear some shit up for the three of you before something goes seriously wrong.”

Jack got up and left, presumably to find Ryan and Ray, so Michael took the opportunity to get up and put some clothes on so he didn’t have to feel vulnerable and naked during whatever conversation they needed to have. While he shoved some pants on, he reached out for his phone - only to remember that he’d thrown it out of the window in the middle of the desert. Oops.

-

“Years ago,” Jack started, when he’d forced the three of them to sit on the couch in the living room so he could stand over them with his arms crossed, “When he was very young, Gavin’s family got into some trouble with the mob in England. Some might think that the British mob branches are a little more polite than others, but they would be very wrong. Eventually, this mob orphans Gav when he’s around fourteen. He and his bestie, you all know Dan, were forced to work for them doing what he does for us now - except a little bit less willingly. You know how Gav is with computers, he’s a natural, but he’s too big for his britches sometimes and he tried to hack into Gus’ systems one night and caught his attention.”

“So they saved him from the mob,” Ryan cut the story short but Jack gave him a look and he went quiet.

“More than that, Ry. Gus decided that this kid had talent and, being the curious fucker he is, traced him back to where he was operating out of and told Burnie about him, who also took an interest. Gus thought he was skilled enough to take on, actually skilled enough that Gus went back on his promise to never take an apprentice, so Burnie decided he wanted him, too. So he took on the mob, cut off their suppliers and basically blueballed them until he gave them Gavin and Dan, since Gav wouldn’t leave without him. It was a little more difficult to get them out of the country, since he didn’t have any connections willing to go straight-out against the fuckheads who’d been keeping Gav hostage and he was having trouble getting the politics of the different mob borders down so he sent Geoff and Joel over to keep them safe. Burnie took a real liking to the two of them and he worked tirelessly - he lost so much money, gave out and used up more favors that any of us can know and after months and months of work and loss, he managed to do it. He flew the four of them home on a golden jet.”  
“Classic,” Ray muttered but Jack smiled and the tension of the room was broken just a little.

“Dan took his chance and Matt helped him finish school and start a normal life, while Gavin stuck with Gus, who taught him everything he knew. Joel helped them get used to the culture whiplash, showed them the finer things. You know Dan likes it simple, but Gavin really looked up to Joel and did everything he did - thus, we have a Joel clone. The knife he carries around is a memento. Joel saved his life with it and gave it to him to protect himself. Matt showed the two of them how to forge whatever they needed to handle their finances and never have to worry about income and Geoff protected them, gave them a new home, a safe place to live and learn and get new lives. They grew up with Barbara and Blaine, who you haven’t met, but were in similar situations at the time.”

“Burnie saved them,” Michael looked at his hands to avoid the shame beginning to lick up his throat.

“He saved them and raised them in his shadow, protected them until they could protect themselves. He’s been grooming Gavin since he was fifteen, guys. So yeah, Gavin’s got a lot of fondness for them and they for him. You know Gavin, he took to this life like a duck to water. Yes, Burnie wants him to take the reins, one day, when the lot of us are dead and gone, or retired. But that doesn’t mean Gavin has to leave Los Santos, you assholes, and it doesn’t mean he has to leave us, either. Whatever conversation you heard, it wasn’t about Gavin _leaving_ , especially not to go with Burnie. Gavin chose to come here, he loves this city and he loves being in the Fakes and he loves being with _us_.”

“Oh,”

“Yeah, _oh_ ,” Jack frowned, losing the fond look he’d been giving them to replace it with annoyance, “And now the three of you are ruining their only chance to hang out together for the next year with your angst and misunderstandings so go fucking apologize. Don’t think any of them haven’t noticed that you’re all being insufferable.”

“Shut up,” Ryan grumbled, but he still got up to get dressed properly so they could go home.

Ray stuck with Jack to have a conversation Michael wasn’t interested in hearing. His thoughts were going too fast for him to keep up.

If what Jack was saying was true, then that meant that Gavin _wasn’t_ planning on leaving, that maybe he _didn’t_ want to go back to Liberty with Burns. And, sure, that meant that Gavin had just been kind of a jerk to them because his enthusiasm was running high and he’d missed the people that had apparently created him - but it wasn’t like Michael had been acting any different. Worse, he’d let his own fears blind him and had dragged Ray and Ryan into his problems too, which had probably done nothing but make their own fears and worries seem beyond real.

He ran into Ryan while he was looking for his shoes.

“Ry,” he started, feeling like he needed to apologize.

“Don’t,” Ryan stopped him, giving him a warning look, “Ray and I were already fritzy, okay? Nothing you did made this any worse than it would have been otherwise.”  
“I should have just _asked_ ,” Michael couldn’t help but say, “I - fuck, Ry, if I’d just _talked_ to them,”

“All three of us could have done that,” Ryan finished tying his boot strings before standing up to tower over Michael, “Don’t try to blame this all on yourself. All of us know that we’re the flight risks, the three of us take any chance we can get to ruin things we don’t think we deserve. Jack probably expected this and that’s why he came to find us while Geoff and Gavin were distracted, huh?”

Michael bit his lip and he must have looked upset because Ryan leaned down and pressed their foreheads together, “Stop, Jones. This is not all on you. We’re going to fix it now and learn a lesson about communication, okay?”

“Okay,” Michael nodded, exhaling slowly. He felt the anxiety in his fingers begin to ebb away under Ryan’s calm face.

“Okay.” Ryan pulled away, but he kept an arm slung over Michael’s shoulders as they walked back into the living room, where Jack and Ray were waiting.

Michael looked at Ray, who barely even glanced in his direction before rolling his eyes.

“Don’t even start, Jones. Let’s go home and if I think you’re gonna say what you’re being a dumbass about trying to say, I’ll punch you.”  
“You punch worse than Gavin,” Michael smiled weakly, shrinking into Ryan’s side just a little.

“Try me,” Ray smiled back and that was that. Michael still felt like he needed to apologize to both of them, but neither would accept it or even let him say it. He’d have to make it up to them in other ways, ways that they maybe wouldn’t be so quick to forbid.

Jack opened the door and then locked it after them and lead them down to the car he had waiting in the lot.

“I called Geoff and told him to clear everyone out for a few hours so we could talk about this.”

“How mad is he?” Michael found himself asking, having taken the backseat with Ryan while Ray took the front seat so he could charge his phone.

“He’s more worried than anything,” Jack reassured him, “Gavin’s on the warpath, though, so expect to be yelled at. You really shouldn’t have tossed your phone.”

Michael wanted to say it was an accident, but it hadn’t been.

It’s a short, silent ride after that and Michael doesn’t like it. He wants to be angry, but he’s just upset now - upset at himself; for not trusting Gavin and Geoff, for dragging Ray and Ryan into doubt with him, for worrying them, for maybe ruining Geoff’s reputation with the other Founders, for still being upset with Gavin even though he wasn’t leaving.

By the time they’d reached the penthouse, parked, and piled into the elevator to lead them to the door, Michael still had no clue what he wanted to say or how he wanted to say it.

Luckily for him, walking into the penthouse put him face to face with an angry Gavin and Gavin could talk in whatever mood he was in.

“What in the _hell_ were you _thinking_ , throwing your phone out of a window, are you _crazy_ , what if something had _happened_ , you and Ray both!” He made an angry, frustrated noise, “And then no one will tell me where you are or if you’re okay or -”

He suddenly wilted, going from angry to upset in seconds, “Micoo, what the fuck?”

And Michael didn’t know what else to say other than the truth so he stepped forward, took a deep breath and came out with it.

“I heard you and Geoff talking the other night, before the Founders showed up. You had the serious tumblers out and - and you were talking about fucking _clean slates_ and _doing better_ and - fucking, I thought you were talking about us, okay? About,” Michael made a big circle with his hands, “I thought you - you were saying that you tried and - and it wasn’t enough and you were leaving and Geoff just, just gave in and I got - I was so _angry_ ,”

“Michael,” Gavin looked confused, then understanding, then hurt, “Michael, I was talking about my _Minecraft server_ ,”

“I get it, okay!” Michael crossed his arms, “It was stupid! It was just a big, stupid, misunder-fucking-standing and I - Fuck!” He wanted to turn around and leave, wanted to go back to the bathroom and hide, wanted to -

“Michael,” Gavin reached out and grabbed his shoulders, “I would never leave you guys.”

“Burns wants you to go,” Michael said, figuring that if they had to talk it out, they should just throw it all fucking out there, “He wants you to go back to Liberty, and - and you _left_ after we had sex and you don’t do that, not usually, and then the heist and you’re so happy when you’re around them, both of you,” Michael looked at Geoff, standing behind Gavin and listening closely, looking a little lost and a little understanding all at once, “You’re so happy and I’m - scared. I’ll admit it. I’m fucking terrified that you’re leaving and that - that everything will fall apart and I’ll be alone again.”

“I chased this stupid fuck down in the airport, RomCom style. Do you really think I’d just let Burnie have him after I wrestled him back here?” Geoff sighed, sounding put-upon.

“Well,” Ray answered since Michael was too busy drowning in his own fucking angst to find his voice, “No,”

“Then what the fuck were you thinking?”

“Nothing,” Ryan fidgeted, “We just...panicked. Michael was convinced and Ray and I were convinced because Michael was convinced and then all three of us just...put a spin on things.”

“Put a spin on things, my ass,” Geoff shook his head but he stepped forward and gripped Gavin’s shoulder, “No one is leaving anybody, you got it?”  
They all nodded, shamefaced, but Gavin still wasn’t satisfied until he’d cupped Michael’s face between his hands and then promptly pushed his cheeks together until he was making a fish-face.

“I. Am. Not. Leaving. This. Crew.” He shook Michael’s head a little, smiling, “You listenin’, boi? I’m not going anywhere, not even if Burnie begged me to go back to Liberty. This is where I belong, with my crew. I’m sorry I left you to go have lunch with Matt, I didn’t even think about leaving after that and I should have. But you should have come and _talked_ to me or Geoff. I can see how this might not have looked great with you misunderstanding that conversation. About my Minecraft server. That you were eavesdropping on.”

“I get it,” Michael tried to say, though it came out more as _i gheb eh_.

Gavin just shook his head and laughed, leaned in and kissed Michael’s fish-lips until his hands had relaxed and he was kissing Michael for real.

Then he was turning to Ryan and Ray to give them their own kisses and reassurances while Michael was left standing in front of Geoff, who did not look pleased.

“Why didn’t you just come talk to me, kid?”

“I don’t know,” Michael shrugged, crossing his arms again, “I just, I didn’t want it confirmed. Or, I dunno, something stupid. I should have. I’m sorry, Geoff. We’ve probably made you look like a total jackass to your old crew.”

“Lucky for you, they already thought I was a jackass,” Geoff smiled a little, still not looking happy but not angry either, “This is what we talked about when we said we had to communicate.”  
“I know,” Michael nodded and, when Geoff opened his arms, leaned in to hug him tight. He hadn’t talked to Geoff in days, angry at him and hurt in equal measure, and he’d _missed_ him as much as he’d missed Gavin and Jack.

“You’re on dishes for a week,” Geoff mumbled into his hair and Michael would have groaned in annoyance but he was really too relieved that he’d been forgiven and nothing terrible was happening to rip the crew apart to care.

“So, does this mean that I really haven’t been able to beat Ray?” Gavin asked, breaking the last of the tension in the room and Michael found himself laughing into Geoff’s shoulder, squeezing him tight to avoid falling over because it really hadn’t been that funny but the relief of it all made it the most hilarious thing Michael had heard in his life.

-

Geoff called the Founders back home but Michael wasn’t quite ready to stick around them just yet. He retreated to the bedroom, though Ray and Ryan stayed with the others. Jack followed him for a while and they laid on the bed and Jack stroked his hair until he was sleeping again and he didn’t wake up again until the others were crawling into the bed around him. Geoff found his way to Michael’s back, spooned him and held him tight with confident hands. Ryan slept on his other side, curled between Michael and Gavin, who had become an octopus and wound himself around Ray and Jack. He stayed conscious just long enough to laugh into the pillow when Geoff’s mustache tickled his throat before he was back to sleeping, his hand tangled with Gavin’s on Ryan’s hip.

-

The meeting that the Founders had all shown up for was two days after the crew cleared up their misunderstanding. Michael still didn’t like them but, now that he knew that even if they had been trying to steal him away, Gavin wouldn’t have gone, he was able to tolerate their presence a lot more and it had been a fun last day to hang out for the Roosters before their final reports had come in and they could no longer get away with the days of tomfoolery they had been participating in.

Geoff disappeared with Gus, Matt, Joel, and Burnie - dragging Jack along with him since he knew more statistics on hand than even Geoff’s report could give him - into a secured location (i.e. the basement of the penthouse) and Barbara and Gavin left for a final few hours of hanging out together, leaving Michael alone in the penthouse. Ryan and Ray had decided to take the day to themselves as well and had disappeared back to their apartment for what would probably amount to a junk-food-and-video-game-sexcapade. They’d invited Michael, but he’d just wished them good luck on their adventures and settled in to catch up on the latest Netflix Original. He was feeling the need for some time on his own, to really get his head straight and work out whatever else was fucking around with his relationships.

The credits to the first episode of the Voltron reboot were just rolling when he heard the door to the penthouse open and close but Michael wasn’t one to worry. If they weren’t supposed to be in the penthouse, then the security team would have stopped them long before they reached the door.

“So, you’re kind of a quiet guy,” Burnie Burns said, and Michael went tense. He didn’t move his eyes from the screen, where the second episode was still a few seconds away from starting. There were some papers shuffling on what sounded like the kitchen table - probably from the open file Burnie and Geoff had left their last night. Michael hadn’t bothered looking at them since, if he’d needed to know what was on them, someone would have told him.

When Michael finally admits to himself that Burns is talking to him, he doesn’t respond with much.

“I guess.”

“But, see, when Gav talks about you, it doesn’t _sound_ like you’re usually a quiet kind of guy so, just my thoughts, I take it you don’t like us much.”

“No,” Michael said truthfully, still not taking his eyes off the TV, “I don’t. But Plan G does, so I’m keeping my mouth shut.”

Burnie didn’t say anything to that and Michael was just relaxing back into the couch, just beginning to actually watch the episode, when Burnie dropped a hand down on the couch right next to his head.

“They talk about you guys constantly,” Burns said, sounding disinterested, “For a long time, me and the others - we fucking hated you, you have no idea how close you all were to being on my shitlist. First, the Vagabond and Geoff was bad enough about fawning over his perfect kill rep and then he and Jack are talking up this up-start punk from Jersey with dynamite for fingers and, you know, we’re okay with it. It sucks that Geoff’s replacing us, but we knew it would happen. But then _Gavin_ starts in, and - _shit_ , my man. ‘ _Burnie, Burnie, we got this new kid, he’s a sniper, he’s better than any shot I’ve ever seen,_ ’ Matt almost killed Brownman, he was so offended. It’s hard, when the kid you watched grow from some lanky fuck you picked up in England, who thought you were the best in the world, slowly move away from you and find people they love even _more_. You guys made them smile like we couldn’t and, _boy,_ ” Burnie clenched his hand tight on the back of the couch and Michael stopped breathing, stopped even understanding the screen in front of him. Was this what it was like to have a shark under you when you swam in open water?

“Joel would call me, saying Gav missed a skype call because he went to blow shit up with Mogar. Gus would be on the phone with Geoff and all he would hear was a bunch of non-British assholes yelling in the background. It leveled out, obviously, but those first few weeks where all they could talk about were you guys and your _fucking_ new crew,”

Burnie laughed, sounding a little strained, but not quite like he wanted to kill Michael just yet.

“It was hard, knowing that we were being replaced. Sure, we were all doing our own thing too, but Geoff and Jack, they did it fast. They found all of you so _fast_. Matt set us straight, of course. Always count on Hullum for that. He had to hit us all over the head a few times and remind us that we weren’t being replaced, that they were just finding more people to trust. To love. That’s all we ever really wanted for them, really.”

“I get it.” Michael finally grunted, feeling like he was trying to hold the door to his cage closed even as he was being circled by a Great White. “I didn’t know the history. I do now. I’m fine with it.”

“Good.” Burnie patted the couch where he’d been gripping the leather, not quite touching Michael but not shying away from his legendary anger, either. “So try to remove that stick up your ass. Barb has been dying to ask about your explosive collection since she heard about it.”

Burns left after that, silent as he’d came, and Michael didn’t stop staring at the screen. He tried to remember what it was like to breathe. He felt like he’d just escaped something, like the Great White had left his cage alone.

But Burnie had also given him a lot to think about. So the Founders had been just as jealous of Michael and the other two as they’d been of them?

Michael tried to think about their interactions so far, tried to place if the Founders had been jealous this whole time too, if they’d just been better at hiding it.

And he didn’t come to any conclusion about that, but he did think about Gavin and how he had specific smiles for the Founders, because they protected and helped and saved him, but he also had smiles _them_ , because he’d saved them and he loved them. He’d chosen to be with them.

Michael restarted the episode, feeling settled.

-

Dinner that night was crowded and much louder than usual because Michael was a loud person and he didn’t want to pretend to be otherwise anymore.

He made Gus cry from laughter nearly ten minutes into the meal that Jack, Adam, and Ryan had thrown together, and Joel was obsessed with his jacket and kept trying to get him to let him Bedazzle it for him, as if Gavin hadn’t been trying to do the same thing since they’d met.

“Hey, Barbara,” He called across the table, when there was a slight lull and he thought he could actually get her attention.

She looked up from where she and Ray had been comparing notes on what Michael could only guess to be hand-to-hand combat from the perspective of a short, slight frame and he gave her a grin.

“Want to check out my collection after this shit is cleaned up?”  
“Fuck yeah!” She answered, looking excited, “I bet you’ve got some fancy stuff stored there. Geoff spoils you guys rotten.”  
“Guilty,” Michael shrugged, uncaring. He’d admit that Geoff spoiled him maybe a little too much. But he got some pretty toys out of the deal, so it wasn’t like he was complaining.

“I bet it’ll be a real _blast_ ,” She winked and elbowed Gus next to her, and the whole table went up in a chorus of groans and _Damn it, Barb_ ’s.

While everyone was distracted with her terrible puns, Michael glanced at Burnie and gave him a careful, cautious smile. Burnie grinned back at him, open and approving.

So did Gavin - happier than Michael had ever seen him.

 


End file.
